Dumb questions about clownfish in the wild (from someone who has never been to a reef)?

[MoshJosh]

Go easy on me. . .

A while back I read a thread in which an expert said something along the lines of "clownfish are never observed without an anemone in nature", this got me thinking.

Are clownfish populations correlated to anemone populations and or regulated by them?

Or are anemones so large and plentiful in clownfish habitats that real-estate is never an issue and clownfish populations are controlled by other means?

Or or. . . has a clownfish ever been observed hosting a coral in the wild (I assume this is something we only see in captivity, but they seem so ready to do it I was just wondering (or wishing?) if it has ever been observed. . .

 

[ieatbugman]

That is a very interesting question

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I dont want to Google it since I like it when people (including myself) speak from their own knowledge, so Id tend to say tge answer is...im sure there has been at least one sighting of a clown hosting a coral, but its rare to see tgem not hosting an anemone. Why? Because corals whose sting they arent affected by provide no protection from predators, just as a clown hosting nothing would be very vulnerable. In short, they arent frequently observed not hosting an anemone in the wild because they're eaten very quickly if they dont have protection from an anemone.

Thats my guess...

 

[voelter76]

I dont want to Google it since I like it when people (including myself) speak from their own knowledge, so Id tend to say tge answer is...im sure there has been at least one sighting of a clown hosting a coral, but its rare to see tgem not hosting an anemone. Why? Because corals whose sting they arent affected by provide no protection from predators, just as a clown hosting nothing would be very vulnerable. In short, they arent frequently observed not hosting an anemone in the wild because they're eaten very quickly if they dont have protection from an anemone.

Thats my guess...

That seems reasonable. I’ll buy it.

 

[Faurek]

I can say that I live near the Atlantic cold water seaweed reef and anemones look like plagues, anemonia sulcata/viridis and actinias. I would think it wouldn't be hard for anemones in the pacific, but clownfish can live without anemones, tho anemones are their safe spot, so maybe to your question. They are slow swimmers so without hosting something they will be vulnerable.

 

[winxp_man]

I would say nems can slit faster than Nemo’s can breed. Thus making the nems a must for Nemo’s survival.

 

[Paul B]

I don't think I ever saw clownfish without being very close to an anemone. I think they swim way to slow to avoid being eaten if they venture too far.

Also, clownfish and anemones in the sea get huge and one 5' anemone can host hundreds of clownfish even though they keep chasing each other away.

I have spent almost 400 hours underwater

 

[CoastalTownLayabout]

Have never seen Solomon Island percs far from an anemone. As Paul B mentioned above, I’ve seen quite large harems of them in big anemones.

Have seen other species of clowns, particularly skunks, in large sarcos. There have been anemones hosting same species nearby so whether they are seeking temporary refuge is unknown.

Have seen large tomato clowns in East Indo dominating advantageous reef crevices. Not common but more than once.